Yaxel Lendeborg declares himself to be an ethical hooper

Nov 1, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg (1) reacts after a LA Clippers foul during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Golden State rookie forward Lendebrog really Yaxcelled last night in his 37-point, 4 rebound, 6 assist effort in the Warriors’ 124-112 win over the Clippers. After the game, he confessed that he caused himself some grief by briefly pursuing a 40-point night.

I’ve never been a stat chaser in my life. […] I’m a guy that loves ethical hoops. I’m a guy that loves efficient basketball and I kind of, like, didn’t do for that the last 2-3 minutes. […] If it comes to me, it does. If I don’t get it, then I wasn’t meant to get it that day.

He correctly noted that after he did try to take some threes to get there the Clippers came roaring back late. I will point out, though, that he was being egged on largely by his teammates, specifically De’Anthony Melton, and it’s here that I will put a pin in praising the rookie for speaking with a degree of humility and poise that makes him extremely likable.

Melton gets that not many opportunities like a 40-point night come along in a players’ career — unless they happen to wind up like LeBron James, etc. — and was, in my mind, simply pushing his teammate to grab an achievement that was in a bucket’s reach. I don’t see a problem with that, and it’s a credit to Melton for being supportive of a rookie teammate rather than antagonistic. Last week, Take Two posted a video of Yaxel being interviewed by some NBA vets (Drew Gooden and Aaron Gordon) and they made it clear that the game is a lot different today than it was when they got started, specifically in the arena of rookie hazing; but, you never know with these things. It’s at least a positive to see that his teammates like him as much as the fans have started to.

But getting back to Yaxel’s comments after the game. This is some special stuff. He’s certainly making strides on the court, but this is, what, his third post-game presser with some memorable commentary? “Lost all respect” for Luka, “try not to wet the bed” after the Luka rematch, and last night? We are not even 10 games into the season!

It sure does feel like we’re on the ground floor of… something. Hopefully, something special. At least, that’s how it’s trending. But “ethical hoops” is an interesting self-tag. The game’ll humble you, the notion of ethical hooping is tricky in its own right — it is, effectively, a smarty pants way of saying “not a ball hog” — and players and fans are always looking for a vector for their venom. How he reacts to the jeers and mockery will be the real test of character, because how he’s playing all but guarantees a backlash.

In the meantime… my goodness, what a cool rookie.